Spain beats Argentina despite two disallowed goals and a missed red card

How much advantage does Argentina need to win a final?

Yesterday, with two goals disallowed for Spain and a red card that never came, Scaloni’s team tried everything. But the Spanish squad won anyway. The final score, 1-0, tasted incomplete, hiding a match in which Argentina employed every extra-sporty resource available.

The two disallowed goals: errors or a trend?

The first came after a play where the referee interpreted a foul that wasn’t there. Replays showed minimal contact, insufficient to disallow. The second, a header goal, was invalidated by VAR for an offside by the elbow. The technology showed a millimetric line that many consider impossible to trace with precision. “A player’s position is determined by their feet, not their elbow,” was one of the most repeated arguments. Suspicion of image manipulation also loomed, as it was mentioned that the capture was taken five seconds after the touch.

The red card that never came

Argentina accumulated hard fouls throughout the match: elbowing away from the ball, challenges without intent to play. According to the rules, striking a rival without contesting the ball is a card, and if the intent is to harm, it should be red. However, the Slovenian referee showed not a single card to the Argentines for these actions. Spain, paradoxically, ended the match with zero cards, despite being the team that suffered the most fouls. The difference in criteria was so evident that many spoke of a sustained favorable treatment throughout the tournament, recalling the disallowed goal to Egypt in the semifinals.

The shadow of the referee and the FIFA business

The referee was neither Swiss nor Icelandic, as some had requested, but Slovenian with a history that some describe as controversial. In a debate that transcends sport, economic interests of FIFA are pointed to: keeping the match alive until penalties would have been a sure business, but Spain ruined it with a last-minute goal. The presence of Donald Trump in the stands, enjoying the spectacle, added a surreal touch to a final that already seemed scripted.

The Messi paradox

A curious detail that circulated after the match: Lionel Messi holds Spanish nationality. Applying logic, the Argentine is also World Champion with Spain. The irony was not lost on those who recalled that many players in the Albiceleste were trained in Europe, where they learned a football that they then despise when it suits them.

In the end, the scoreboard doesn’t lie. Spain was superior in play, in chances, and in pride. Neither two disallowed goals nor a missed red card were enough to twist the result. As one analysis summarized: “Spain won 3-0, but the referee wanted it to be only 1-0.” Sometimes, not even the best script can beat reality.